Lever-actuated power-transmission gearing.



W. T. LOWE, Sn.

LEVER ACTUATED POWER TRANSMISSION BEARING.

APPLICATION FILED OCT-7.1916- 1 ,2 1 4,804 Patented Feb. 6, 1917.

llllillllill gnaw/whet WlLLifiM T Lows 5 LEVER-ACTUATED POVJER-TRANSMISSION GEARING.

Application filed ctober'7, 1916.

To all whom 2'25 may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM T. LOWE, Sn, a citizen of the United States, residing at Nashville, in the county of Davidson and State of Tennessee, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Lever-Actuated Power-Transmission Gearing, of which the following is a specification reference being had to the accompanying drawings.

This invention relates to an improved lever actuated power transmission gearing and has for its primary object to provide a simple and positively operating mechanism which may be actuated with a minimum of manual labor for the operation of railway hand cars, mine cars, and for various other purposes.

The invention has for another of its objects to provide simple and positively operating mechanism for transmitting power to the driven shaft at a high speed by the manual manipulation of a lever, the direction of rotation of the driven shaft being reversible at the will of the operator.

The invention has for one of its more particular objects to provide actuating means for the gearing, embodying a lever fulcrumed intermediate of its ends for oscil latory movement, pull and push pawls connected to one end of the lever to co-act with a ratchet element carried by the master gear of the transmission mechanism to impart a continuous rotation thereto, and an adjustable wrist pin cooperatively engaged with the lever whereby-its operating stroke may be varied.

My invention has for still another object to generally improve and simplify devices of the above character, increase their elliciency and serviceability in operation, and render the same capable of producing a high driving power with a relatively small expenditure of manual labor.

WVith the above and other objects in view, my invention consists in the novel features of construction, combination and arrangement of parts to be hereinafter more fully described, claimed and illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which,

Figure l is a side elevation, partly in section, of the improved power transmission gearing, embodying my invention in its preferred form; Fig. 2 is a section taken on the line 22 of Fig. 1, showing the operating means for the gearing; Fig. 8 is a section Specification of Letters Patent. 1

Patented Feb. 6, 1917.

'Serial No. 124,390.

taken on the line 33 of Fig. 2; Fig. at is a fragmentary horizontal section taken on the line 44 of Fig. 1; and Fig. 5 is a detail vertical section taken on the line 55 of Fig. 1.

Referring ip detail to the drawing, 5 designates a base of any preferred form, upon which the opposed, Vertical standards or uprights 6 are mounted. A socket member 7 is centrally secured in this base and projects above the upper surface thereof.

8 designates a Babbitt metal bushing arranged in the socket member in which the lower end of a perpendicular shaft 9 is ro tatably mounted. A ratchet wheel 10 is loosely engaged upon the shaft 9 and is rigidly fixed by means of screws or rivets 10 to a master gear 11. This gear 11 is provided with internal gear teeth, indicated at 12, formed upon an upstanding flange on the outer edge of the gear. The gear 11 is centrally provided with an opening to loosely receive the perpendicular shaft 9.

The shaft 9 is centrally mounted in a hori- Zental bar or bracing member 13 which is seated at its ends upon shoulders 14 formed upon the inner faces of the standards or uprights 6. Latch plates 15 are pivoted upon these standards, as at 16, for swinging move ment, and in their normal positions are engaged upon the ends of the bar 13 to retain said bar upon the supporting shoulders 14. In the bar 13, on opposite sides of the shaft 9 and in spaced relation thereto, the depending stud bolts 17 are rigidly fixed. A gear 18 is rotatal'ily mounted upon each of said bolts, said gears being disposed between the body of the internal gear 11 and the under side of the bar 13. These gears have meshing engagement with the teeth. of a pinion l9 integrally formed with or rigidly secured upon. the shaft 9. The gears 18 also mesh at diametrically opposite points with the teeth 12 of the gear 11 and are positively driven by the master gear 11 in the manner to be hereinafter explained. Upon the upper end of the shaft 9, above the bar 13, a mlatively large gear member 20 is keyed or otherwise secured and securely held against longitudinal movement by a nut 21 tlnreaded upon the upper end of the shaft. The gear 20 is provided with peripheral teeth 22 and an annular series of teeth 23 upon its upper face.

In suitable bearings 24 on the upper ends of the standards 6, a horizontally disposeddriven shaft 25 is mounted. Spaced gears 26 are keyed upon this shaft for sliding movement and are adapted for engagement with the teeth 23 at diametrically opposite points. Each of these gears is provided with a grooved collar 27 to receive the arms of a yoke member 28 permanently mounted upon a bar 29 which is fixed at its extremities to the standards 6. It will be understood from this construction and arrangement of the several parts that the power may be transmitted through the shaft 25 or directly from the gear member 20 by engagement of a gear with the peripheral teeth 22 of said member.

Referring now to Fig. 2 of the drawing, wherein I have illustrated the actuating means for the mechanism, 30 designates the operating lever which is fulcrumed intermediate of its ends upon a pin or stud 31 fixed in the base 5. Pawls or dogs 32' and 33 are pivoted, as at 34, to one end of the lever 30. For the purpose of convenience in describing the operation of the device, these pawls may be termed a push pawl and a pull pawl respectively. Upon the free ends of each of the pawls, a vertically disposed stud 35 and 36 respectively, is formed and projects above and below the faces of the pawl. The ratchet, generally indicated by the numeral 10, consists of two disks 37 provided with the spaced, curved teeth 38. A spacing block or core 39 is arranged between these disks and riveted or otherwise securely fixed thereto. The free ends of the pawls 32 and 33 operate between the spaced disks 37 the lugs 35 and 36 co-acting with the teeth on said disks. 40 designates a manually operable wheel in which the vertical rod or shaft 4:1 is centrally fixed, .said shaft being mounted in a suitable bearing upon the base 5. The upper end of said shaft is equipped with a suitable crank or handle 4.2, whereby the wheel may be conveniently rotated. The wheel 40 is provided with a radially extending slot &3 in which a wrist pin 4.4 is adjustably engaged, said pin being secured in its adjusted position by means of the clamping nuts indicated at 45 engaging the upper and lower faces of the wheel 40. The lever 30 operates between said wheel and the base 5 and is provided with a longitudinally extending slot 46 in which the lower end of the wrist pin 44: is slidably engaged. A leaf spring 47 bears against each of the pawls 32 and 33 and yieldingly urges the lugs 35 and 36 into operative engagement with the ratchet teeth 30. The springs 47 are suitably fixed at one of their ends to the lever 30.

In the operation of the device, upon turning the wheel A0 the lever 30 will be oscillated, and in the movement of this lever from the position shown in full lines to the dotted-line position in Fig. 2, the lug 35 on the pawl 32 co-acting with corresponding teeth onthe ratchet disks 37, acts to push or rotate said ratchet, thus also rotating the master gear 11 fixed upon the ratchet. In turn, rotation is transmitted through the intermediate gears 18 and the pinion 17 to the perpendicular shaft 9, and the driving gear 20 thus rotated. It will be understood that only one of the gears 26 is in engage-- ment with the rack teeth 23 on the surface of the gear 20, so that rotation will be transmitted to the driven shaft 25 in the desired direction. lVhile the pawl 32 is thus acting to rotate the ratchet 10, the lug 36 on the other pawl 33 moves idly over the teeth 38 of the ratchet. When the movement of the lever 30 is reversed, this latter pawl acts to continue the rotation of the ratchet by exerting a pull thereon, while the lug 35 of the other pawl 32 will move idly over the ratchet teeth. The stroke or extent of oscillating movement of the lever 30 may be varied or regulated by the proper adjustment of the wrist pin ei in the wheel l0, as will be readily understood.

From the foregoing description, the construction, manner of operation and several advantages of the invention will be clearly and fully understood. The mechanism consists of comparatively few elements which may be easily and quickly assembled or disassembled and provides a highly durable and positively operating construction which may be advantageously employed for elevating purposes, drawing mine cars, or operating railway hand. cars, and for various other analogous uses. A machine actuated by means of my improved power transmission mechanism may be driven at relatively high speed and with comparatively little manual labor on the part of the operator. It will, of course, be obvious that the ratios of the several gear elements may be varied as desired so as to rotate the driven shaft at a predetermined speed. The rotation of this Shaft may be readily reversed by shifting the gear elements 26.

While I have herein referred to a particular manner of mounting the central perpendicular shaft and the several cooperat ing gear elements, it will be understood that various other arrangements of parts may be employed in lieu thereof. The actuating means is likewise susceptible of considerable modification in the form, construction and arrangement of the several elements and I, therefore, reserve the privilege of adopting all such legitimate changes as may be fairly embodied within the spirit and scope of the invention as claimed. For instance, the handle 42 may, of course, be detachably connected to the upper end of the shaft ll so that a belt wheel or other power actuated element may be applied to said shaft.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I desire to claim and secure by Letters Patent is 1. In combination with power transmission gearing including spaced, relatively fixed ratchet disks, an oscillatory lever, independently operable, spring-pressed pawls mounted upon one end of said lever, said pawls extending between the ratchet disks and having terminal means to co-act with the teeth of the disks and impart a continuous rotation thereto in one direction in the oscillation of the lever, and manually operable means for oscillating said lever.

2. In combination with power transmission gearing including a ratchet, an oscillatory lever, means operatively mounted upon one end of said lever and co-acting with the ratchet to impart a continuous rotation thereto in one direction in the oscillation of the lever, a manually rotatable wheel having a radially disposed slot therein, and a wrist pin adjustable in said slot, said lever having a longitudinal slot in which said wrist pin is operatively engaged to oscillate the lever in the rotation of said wheel.

3. In combination with power transmission mechanism, said mechanism including spaced ratchet disks, an oscillatory lever fulcrumed intermediate of its ends, pawls having a common pivotal connection to one the lever, and manually rotatable means for actuating the lever including an adjustable element cooperatively engaged with the lever, whereby the extent of its oscillating movement may be varied.

In testimony whereof I hereunto affix my signature in the presence of two Wit nesses.

IVILLIAM T. LOWE, Sn.

Witnesses:

WILLIAM T. LOWE, Jr., WILLIAM T. WALKER.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of ratents,

Washington, D. G. 

